The sudden and unceremonious dismissal of Deputy Chief Minister K Rajaiah by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has become a subject of raging controversy with many political and non-political organisations terming it a “bias against the Dalits”. The fact that Rajaiah belonged to Madiga sub-caste of Dalits was dominant point in the narrative of KCR’s critics as they wanted to know why only Rajaiah became the target of action when there were allegations of corruption against many other Ministers.
Apart from the main Opposition Congress party, TDP, BJP and Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti, representing the Madiga community were also up in arms. KCR had dismissed Rajaih on Sunday and replaced him with another Madiga leader Kadiam Srihari following the allegations of corruption, which Rajaih strongly denied.
Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, a prominent Dalit leader of Congress said that with this unfair action against Rajaiah, democracy had become a laughing stock in Telangana. “We had expected Telangana to be a democratic State. I don’t think any Deputy Chief Minister was ever sacked like this in another State”. Denying that he was supporting any wrong doing by Rajaiah, Bhatti said that he had been leveling the charges of corruption against other Ministers. “Why action was taken only against RajaiahIJ"
E Dayakar Rao, Telugu Desam legislature party leader, said that action against Rajaiah was an insult to Madigas. "KCR has murdered democracy by the way in which he sacked the Deputy Chief Minster", he said. He demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CB-CID in to corruption charges against other Ministers including Chief Minister and his son.
State BJP President G Kishan Reddy demanded the Chief Minister to explain the reasons for dismissal of Rajaiah. "We are against corruption but we are questioning the manner in which a Deputy Chief Minister was removed". Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) president Manda Krishna Madiga said that the sacking of Rajaiah amounts to insulting the entire community.